creative writing

From Ronan McDonald's The Death of the Critic: "Another way in which 'Eng. Lit.' could profitably reconnect to its evaluative roots is to move closer to creative writing programmes. Creative writing has proved an irresistible draw as a university subject in recent decades, perhaps satisfying the appetite of literature lovers for the sorts of evaluative approach they are unlikely to obtain in a conventional English department.  Unabashed as it necessarily is about evaluating literature, taught creative writing is an important arena for aesthetic judgment in a university setting.  Such judgements generally happen ad hoc, or as a means to an end. Creative writing programmes rarely treat criticism as 'creative'. . . . But these programmes are nonetheless spaces in third-level institutions where literature is treated seriously as an end in itself, not just as an aperture to social or political context.  If English were to move closer to creative writing, it would highlight affinities between creative wnd critical writing, as well as helping produce close connections between critics and artists.  As movements like the Bloomsbury Group sugest, rapport between artist and critic can create energized contexts for artisitic innovation and creativity."